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The Original Pan Am Clippers were manufactured by Sikorsky, Martin, and Boeing in the 1930s. Although they were first-class luxury airliners, only 36 passengers would be able to bunk on the plane during its twelve-hour multiple island-hopping flight across the vast Pacific. Having a four-star dining room, an open lounge, and a world-class crew to attend to every need, passengers were provided with any desire. Only 25 original Clippers were ever shipped to Pan Am.

From white-clad stewards, to blue-clad officers, the Pan American Clipper was the paragon of travel — elegant, extravagant, and secure — other than for the dozen planes that crashed, exploded, sank, burned, or were lost.

The story of the fifteen year history of the Pan Am Clippers, is taken from the memoirs of a 48-year career First Radio Officer. Surviving a class two hurricane on his second flight, he then carried munitions half-way around the world in the first days of WWII, lived through the dangers of Nazi spys, radio stations in Africa, and survived near-death aircraft wrecks. Paul Rafford Jr. tells a remarkable story.